My Computer is Back! And Noelle is STILL looking for her forever home!!

Hooray, I can get back to normal updates!!

So, last night Noelle came with me to my friend Aurora's house, where she met a big dog named Riley and a kitten named Kano... shennanigans ensued.

Noelle is a sweet dog. A little slow. Doesn't really care if another animal doesn't like her, but loves to play with animals that do like her. Poor Riley was such a good sport, but Noelle was too much puppy for her- climbing on her head and barking at her tail. Kitten Kano was not at all interested in having a new dog in the house, and Noelle got a little scratched up. The good news- Noelle didn't react at all to the kitten's attack! She was startled for a moment, then walked away calmly. What a good girl!!

Here she is chewing on Riley's rawhide. Thanks for sharing, Ri!!

Noelle also got a stylin' new jacket yesterday. I know I'm ridiculous for dressing her up, but can you blame me? She's adorable!

I am stumped as to why no one, not one person, has filled out an application to adopt Noelle. 

Please continue to share her story!! 

More blog to come once I finish all the other stuff I've been missing on my computer.

I can't believe Noelle hasn't been adopted yet!!

I'm going to make this short and sweet since I am still writing from my Blackberry.

No one has applied to adopt Noelle! People have shown interest, but there's been zero follow through. I feel like it may be because the word "hydrocephalus" is scary, and the little green heart next to her Petfinder profile to show that she is special needs are scary to people. So I want to clarify Noelle's condition.

1. Noelle has NO IDEA she is considered special needs. She is a spunky, playful, smart, active puppy. As I am writing this, she is running circles around the house and jumping all over our Chewy. Noelle knows her name, her nicknames, sit, "no", and understands body language. She's smarter than our "normal" dogs.

2. Noelle is on medication. She is on Phenobarbitol for seizure prevention and Prilosec OTC to keep the swelling in her head down. She will need t have blood work periodically to be sure the Phenobarb is doing its job. s all. Easy and affordable- no need to be scared!

3. Noelle is the absolute sweetest puppy on the planet, and the toughest as well. She is SO deserving of a forever home where she will be loved and adored unconditionally.

Please help us find Noelle her Happily Ever After. She is dangerously close to becomming my first foster-failure, and that Wouldn't be best for her.

Blackberry is acting up, so off I go. But please please share Noelle's story everywhere.

Thank you for caring about my sweet little foster baby!

Noelle is a big girl!!

Hello, folks! Again, I am writing this from my blackberry, so please excuse typos or weird formatting.

So, today Noelle went to the vet to follow up from her spay and to get blood drawn for her phenobarbitol levels. She was such a good little patient! She has gained FIVE pounds, too! Our little baby is getting big!

Noelle hasn't had any more seizures, thankfully, and as she is growing she will need her phenobarb levels adjusted to prevent seizures in the future. Unfortunately, odds are every now and then she will seize, but with medication the frequency should be less than like 3 times a year. We are really lucky that that's the extent of her disability. The rest of her "stuff" is just quirky and kind of cute. Her wonky eye, her silly walk, and her slightly compromised depth perception just add to her special personality!

I absolutely can not believe Noelle hasn't been scooped up into a forever home yet! Please, PLEASE share this blog and her Petfinder page http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/18362084 and help us find Noelle her Happliy Ever After!! As much as we love her, and as much as I'd love her to be a foster failure, nothing will make me happier than seeing her start her life in a stable forever environment. She so deserves it.

Aaaaaand... here are some Noelle pics from the past few days! Share share share, and as always, thank you for caring about Noelle!!

Noelle- Then and Now (videos)

So, I am always aware of how much progress Noelle has made, and I am amazed by her strength. She is such a tough cookie. Last night was tough, but as always, Noelle pulled through.

Here is a short video clip of Noelle on her way to the ICU the first day we had her. The twitching in her lip is because she is having non-stop seizures, and you can see she is really out of It.

And here is a video clip from earlier tonight of Noelle about to jump in my lap.

She is amazing, we are so lucky to be able to spend this time with her until her perfect forever family finds her. 

Thank you for caring about our miracle pup.

Noelle: A Scary Update

I am writing this from my Blackberry, so I'll keep it short.

Noelle had a pretty good day today. We went for a couple of walks, had some play time, did some snuggling- pretty typical day.

About an hour ago, Noelle had her first seizure since being with us. We knew in all likelyhood she'd have seizures from time to time, and this is not a step backwards or an emergency or anything that's going to further effect her in a negative way. It does, however, remind me how lucky we are that Noelle is alive at all and functioning on a basically normal level.

Working with animals, have seen dogs have seizures before, and not been bothered.  Seeing my little Noelley Belly having what to me seemed like a mighty violent seizure for such a tiny dog made me feel completely helpless, my heart broke for her.

Belly is doing just fine now, relaxing on the couch with me. The neurologist will check her Phenobarb levels and make sure everything is where it needs to be, and we will continue monitoring her and helping her in every way we can.

Please continue to share Noelle's story, please encourage people to donate to her care, and please let people know she's looking for her forever home.

Noelle: Officially a Real Puppy!

I've stopped counting the days. Noelle is part of the family, even just for a short time, and the days are starting to blur together. Partly because I have been on a puppy schedule and haven't slept well since we've had her, but mostly because I so sincerely enjoy my time with her.

So, Noelle is fully awake and not feeling any pain from her spay surgery. She's just as playful, though I've been trying to keep her calm. The best way to calm her, thus far, is to shove a chew toy in her mouth while she's sitting in my lap. She loves being close to 'her people', and she's still at the puppy chewing phase (more on that later...)

Precious and Chewy really want that toy, but they're very good about letting Noelle do her thing!!

The snow has been an issue for Noelle. Not only does it TOWER over her (it's up to my waist in part, for gods sake), but she's so tiny and has such short hair she gets cold REALLY quickly. Still, she's been good about letting me know when she needs to go out and we've had very few accidents. She's a smart little girl.

We've got some puppy treats for Noelle (thanks Heidi!) and she LOVES them. She even walks into her crate on her own now if she knows I've got a treat for  her. AND, she does sit! She's done it a couple times now, when the big dogs have done it too. She's learning from her foster sisters :). However, she's not always so well behaved when food's involved...

Here she is trying to get to the kitchen counter while I'm prepping dinner. (And yes, those are pink fluffy slippers. Hello Kitty if you must know.)

Last night we managed to do about a 10 minute walk (a LONG time for a freezing puppy and a sleepless foster mom), and Noelle was wiped out afterwards. Usually when she's tired and has had enough, be it play time or walking or eating, she'll hop up and curl up in my lap for a snooze. So I felt a little bit betrayed when I saw this...

But how can I be mad at that!?! My Precious loves to be a mommy to all of our foster babies, so it's not surprising that Noelle has warmed up to her. It's actually pretty touching to see how tolerant Precious is, letting Noelle chew on her ears and lounge all over her. They are very sweet together, I think our pups will miss Noelle when she finds her forever home.

Which brings me to this. Please spread the word about Noelle! She is now officially up for adoption and her Petfinder page can be found HERE. She needs a special home who can commit to providing life time care, which for her includes medication and check ups. We still need help paying Noelle's vet bills as well. Please go HERE to donate, and please share!

Oh, about that puppy chewing I mentioned earlier... Noelle's only victim thus far has been my laptop charger. She's a very responsible chewer, so I was surprised when she victimized my computer. If I am blog-less for a few days, that's why! I'm trying to dig up a replacement cord!

Thank you, as always, for caring about Noelle!!

Noelle: Spay Day!

Hello, pals!

It's been a busy day for Noelle. She started her morning getting spayed and spent most of the day in recovery at the animal hospital. We've learned that little Noelle is only 15.8 lbs! I think she's going to be a big girl, though, she's so lanky!

I've got nothing all that new to report, but wanted everyone to know that Noelle is safe and healthy and recovering from her spay surgery! We took a nap earlier, and she's definitely uncomfortable (poor thing groaned every time she moved), but she will be fine in the next couple of days. She is eating normally, drinking normally, etc., so it's good. I was concerned that with her health issues there could be complications from the anesthesia, but I am happy to report that there was nothing to worry about.

Noelle is officially vaccinated as well, and is ready to find her forever home! This is such exciting news, she's come so far in such a short time, and I am just so proud of her. She is a really special little dog, and such a tough cookie to make it through all that she's been through. Please help us find her perfect forever home by sharing her petfinder link: HERE!

Hope everyone is having a good night!! We're getting snow already... I'm not looking forward to being snowed in!

Sweet dreams!

This just in!! ADORABLE photo!!

Thanks to Noelle's other Mama, Heidi of Bully Breed Rescue!!

Noelle: Day Fourteen (I think...)

Noelle is not home with me as I write this, she is spending the night at Rippowam Animal Hospital, because she is getting spayed in the morning!! Once she has recovered from her spay surgery, she will be 100% ready to go to her new home, so start spreading the word!! I know I've said it before, but Noelle needs and deserves a special home where she will get the attention and love she needs. I'm going to be a LITTLE bit psycho about making sure the perfect family gets her.

Since Noelle isn't here today, I don't have much to write.

Last night Noelle's Auntie Rivers brought Noelle a sweater!! She was such a little princess, prancing around, feeling pretty. She is a happy go lucky little dog.

I am not feeling super creative, I'm running a little fever and have a little bit of a throat/chest sick. It'll actually be kind of nice to be able to sleep in tomorrow instead of getting up at dawn with a crying puppy (though I will miss our little piglet, for sure). My favorite part of the morning since we've had Noelle is after I take her for her early morning walk. It's a routine we have. We walk, she pees and poops, and I put her back in her crate and crawl back into bed for a few more hours. Noelle knows I'm there and not sleeping, so she cries and yips until Jimmy get's mad and I give in and tuck her into bed with me. She's good in the crate through the whole night, she just wants her morning cuddle. It goes a little something like this...:

Anyway, as I said, no big excitement today. I will let everyone know tomorrow how her surgery goes. I'm a little worried about the anesthesia because of her seizure issues and hydrocephalus, but the neurologist at the Animal Specialty Center said it would be fine, so I'm thinking positive. Keep our little punkin in your thoughts, send lots of positivity her way.

Here are some ridiculously cute photos for now!!

Thank you for loving Noelle as much as we do!! Please donate if you are able!

Noelle: Day Twelve

I can't believe how time flies with Noelle around to keep me busy!! She'll be ready for her forever home as early as next week, it's unbelievable how far she's come. She is so my little love, I am so lucky to be part of her story.

So, today Noelle discovered how to put her front paws on the button on top of the trash can. I told you, this girl is food motivated, and anything that even remotely smells like something she could eat, she wants. Thankfully she's still too tiny to be able to stick her head in there, but it's not a good habit for her to get into. So we're breaking that habit so she doesn't get herself sick when she's bigger.

Noelle's tummy has been a little upset again today, so we're still doing chicken and rice, and if it continues we will have to run a fecal and start her on Flagyl, but it has improved so I am hoping it will get better in the next 24 hours. Still, an upset stomach is NOT going to stop this little muffin from play time with her foster sisters!!

She is such a little monster, and SO loves other dogs!! She is still working on mastering the art of jumping, she's rather a sloppy jumper at this point, but it just adds to her cuteness! She has, however, mastered the art of the butt shake.

She loves loves LOVES our little Chewy. They are hilarious when they play together. Chewy is still young (about 2 years old) so she still has some of that puppy energy. Precious is more of the mama type, and is more interested in snuggles and food than she is in play time.

Noelle discovered ice today when she spun out on a slippery spot on the back sidewalk. No worries, she's fine, she just ran and sat on my feet and looked up at me like "why? why do such things happen to me?". And of course, I can't resist her wrinkly face and her wonky eyes, so I immediately pick her up and comfort her and she's up and running in no time.

I just had to take a pause while writing this because Noelle was telling me it was time for potty, and she is SUCH a good girl letting me know when she needs to go out. And good news!! Her 'sick butt' has subsided and is much more normal looking. I'd have taken a photo, but I think you can all appreciate the ongoing descriptions of her bowel movements enough.

On another note...

"HI FRIENDS!! I'm playing!!"

Noelle is so special to me. It's been such a joy watching her grow and watching her day to day improvements. It's going to be really difficult to say goodbye when the time comes. Please share her story with friends who may be interested in giving my angel her forever home. I mean, who could help but fall in love with this face?

Well, I'm off to chase our little Belly around the house and hopefully wear her out before bed time. As always, thank you for caring about this little miracle baby.

Go here to donate to her ongoing care/vet bill.

Good night!

Noelle: Day Eleven

Good evening, Noelle fans! Great news! Noelle is feeling MUCH better today! She's still on chicken and rice until tomorrow, when I'll try her back on her puppy food, but she's doing well. Yaaaayyyy!!!!

Noelle had quite an adventure in the snow today. Sadly, I didn't get any photos, I was too busy wrangling her and trying to get her to go potty before running back in the house. She is NOT a fan of the cold or the wet. Once she discovered she was on her leash, she stopped busting towards the door and started hiding between my knees. She is such a baby. Our two full-time dogs LOVE the snow. Well, one of the two. The pittie-er of the two (Precious) is very prissy about getting her feet yucky, and I kind of feel like Noelle has that in common with her.

After exerting all of that energy, and still recovering from yesterday's lack of sleep due to incessant pooping, Noelle was ready for a nap. She curled up under my Snuggy (yes) with me and was almost instantly snoring. About an hour later (thankfully, because my arm was falling asleep) she woke up and was ready to play. So, I let her run around with our big girls, and man does Noelle LOVE other dogs.

This is the best photo I could get. That blur in the red circle is Noelle in action, running her crooked little self full force towards Precious and Chewy, who are SO gentle and easy with her.

They love each other. Which for a second makes me think I need to adopt Noelle, but I know we couldn't give her the one on one time she needs and deserves. We can, however, make sure she goes to a home where she is loved just as much as we love her, hopefully even more (if that's possible!).

It is now time for me to take our sweetums out for her after-dinner walk- wish us luck!! I am hoping that tomorrow we will be able to go to my husband's wonderful parents' house and let Noelle run in the snow in the back yard (maybe she'll like it off leash when it's not actively falling). She loves being off leash and she LOVES her Grammy and Grampa, she's so good at napping on my lap there, it's a nice break from chasing her all over :). She's such a spunky little baby, and so mild as far as the usual puppy stuff (no destructive chewing, YAY!!), she's really the perfect little angel.

Have a good night, folks!

<3

Noelle: Day Ten!!

Good evening, friends of Noelle!

So, yesterday Noelle figured out how to bark. Like, really bark. It's tiny and cute, but it's no longer a wimper, it's a real bark. I love it! I love her progress!!

Unfortunately, Noelle had a sick tummy today, so we didn't have any adventures. Other than multiple showers to wash off poop. Good news- it's just the medication, it will pass. Here is a photo of her after her first bath, curled up in my lap snoozing away.

Poor baby girl, it's so hard to see her uncomfortable.

I made her some boiled chicken and rice for dinner (we skipped breakfast to give her tummy a chance to calm down) and she was very helpful in the kitchen. She's clearly not TOOOOOO sick, here's a photo of her trying to climb from the kitchen floor to a drawer right below the counter where the chicken was.

I am wiped out from the many walks, crate cleaning, showering, doggy bathing and what not today, but I am excited to announce that Noelle will be getting vaccinated and spayed on Tuesday, and we will be putting her on petfinder shortly. To go with that good news, here is a photo of her once again hunting down her chicken (it's in the green bowl in the bottom of the fridge).

I've started calling her "Belly" (first it was Noelley, then Noelley the Belly, now just Belly) because she is THE most food motivated puppy I've ever encountered. No matter how cruddy she feels or how 'out of it' we think she is, that girl can sense food from 3 rooms away and wastes no time getting to the source.

As she gets healthier, we get closer to time to say goodbye, and it is so bittersweet. I couldn't be happier at how well she's doing, I have the highest hopes for her continued recovery. I am going to be SUPER picky (like, pain in the butt picky) about where she goes, because she is a truly special dog and she truly deserves the best. I fall a little bit in love with all of our foster babies, but Noelle is really special, I will be really sad to see her go, but I am so happy for the chance she will have for a better future. This feels like the definition of love to me.

I'm off to powernap before Noelle's next round of what I refer to as "Sick Butt"... here's hoping she feels MUCH better tomorrow!!

Thank you for caring about Noelle, and as always, please donate to her care if you are able! Here is the link.

Goodnight!!

Noelle: Day Eight

It's another momentous day in Noelle's recovery!! But first, I've got to back track to last night...

Noelle had her first chance to run free off leash!! We went to Jimmy's parent's house, and they have a well fenced back yard. I felt that Noelle was stable enough to be let off leash and allowed to romp on her own... and boy was I right!! I need to go over in the day time tomorrow to get some video, but let me tell ya, when she's not eating snow, that girl is RUNNING!!

I didn't manage to get the running on camera yet, but I did get some snow eating!

I imagine the cold snow feels great on her sore gums. I'd definitely rather she chew that than chew my fingers!

Yesterday in the late afternoon we had a nice long walk, and Noelle did "sit" on command!! OK, maybe it was just coincidence that I said "sit!" and she wobbled her little butt down, but it was a very exciting moment. More exciting, though, is that when I crouched down to pet her and tell her what a good girl she is, she JUMPED!! Like, all four feet left the ground. The intention was to nip at a big button on my jacket. Again, I know, not great behavior, I shouldn't encourage it, blah blah blah, but for now it's still HOLY CRAP! Noelle JUMPED! As you can see, we were very excited:

OK, I was very excited. Noelle looks like an embarrassed child who has just realized she is too old to be kissed by her mom in public. And I don't care. I'm gonna kiss that wrinkly little head every chance I get, and I'm going to be excited for her progress no matter how small it seems.

Today Noelle got a little familiar with our big dogs, Precious and Chewy. We can't let her really play or spend time with them yet, but sometimes they catch me sneaking her out the back door to go for our walks. In the brief time that they had to get to know each other, all tails were wagging. Noelle even jumped up to lick Chewy on the face, and then hauled butt across the kitchen trying to get Chewy to chase her. She's really turning into a real puppy. I know I've said it before, but it's still amazing and it's still exciting.

After all of the excitement,  Noelle tucked under the covers with me for some snoozing. Hearing her breathe her little puppy breath and make her little sleeping sounds is music to my ears. It melts my frozen little heart every time I see her sleeping peacefully, and I can't help but think what a miraculous little dog she is. I am so happy to get to take part in her recovery and in her happily ever after.

Thank you for caring about sweet Noelle. We still need help paying her vet bill and for her ongoing care (medication and follow up appointments), so please donate to her ChipIn page if you are able, and please spread the word about her story and her progress!

<3<3<3<3

Noelle: Day Seven

Puppy training is hard. Puppy training a special needs puppy is even harder. Noelle makes it pretty easy!! She is such a smart girl!! Once again, I was shocked out of a deep sleep this morning by a "YIP!! yipyipYIPrrrrrrrrrYIP!". Noelle doesn't quite bark yet (though she came very close just a few minutes ago!), she more grunts and mumbles, quite piggy-esque. Jimmy calls her "The Pig-Bull", which I think is adorable AND accurate. Anyway, Noelle is SO good about waking me up to take her outside, I just think she doesn't know she has to pee until it's too late. We were ALMOST out the back door when she peed on me. No big deal, it's still progress from yesterday! It seems to be the morning pee that gets her, she's perfect the rest of the day. We'll keep practicing :).

So today we left Noelle home alone while we went to belated Christmas at my Godparents house. I was REALLY nervous about leaving her. Not because I actually thought anything would happen, but because if something DID happen and I wasn't there I'd completely lose my mind over it.

This is the disturbing scene we came home to 2.5 hours later:

Now, I'm not quite fluent in Dog, but I'd like to think I'm close. I'd like to translate this for you. "Mooo-ooommmmm, where'd you goooooooo?!". She absolutely could not care less. I imagine she spent that time happily nobbling (yes, nobbling, it's what pit bulls do. It's kind of like nibbling, but cuter and more intense) on her favorite rope toy.

After I hugged her and kissed her and gave her a cookie, I took her out for her afternoon walk.

As you can see, Noelle is DRASTICALLY improved from the half dead puppy of last week. Every day I am amazed by her progress. Look at her speeding along!!

Today's big landmark: Noelle jumped up on her back legs and put her front paws on my knee, looking up at me and saying "Ma, I'm not gonna poop, and I'm cold, so please pick me up". Yes, I know this is considered bad behavior, and we don't want dogs who will grow to be big and muscular learning that it's ok to jump on people, but HOLY CRAP! Noelle balanced on her back legs! Noelle balanced on her back legs WHILE looking up at me and whining. Oh. My. God.

Miracle baby, I'm telling you.

In other news: Puppy teeth hurt. And I'm thrilled that Noelle is using them, that she's teething, and that she's doing the normal puppy stuff. I really don't imagine Noelle will end up being as 'Special Needs' as we initially anticipated. Yes, she will have seizures. She hasn't yet, so maybe that will change. Initially we thought she may be wheel chair bound, she may be blind, she may not be able to control when she goes to the bathroom. SO not the case, and SO excited.

I think that's over and out for today. Thank you for caring about Noelle, she is SUCH a special girl and SO deserving of all of the love in the world. Please continue to spread the word about her, and please encourage people to donate to her care (as we are still nowhere near her total vet bill and medication) by going to her ChipIn page here.

Peace, Love and Noelle <3

Noelle: Day Six (1-2-2011)

This morning I was roused from sleep by a very insistent "Yip! RrrrrrrrrrrrrYIP!"... to which I replied "Good Morning, Noelle!"... to which SHE replied "RRRRRRRRRRyipyipYIP!". I went to the hall to get her leash and collar, and by the time I got back Noelle had peed in her crate. Totally not her fault, she tried to wake me up, and I am SO thrilled to learn that her morning "Yip!" is her saying "I gotta go NOW!". I know she will develop more control as she stabilizes, and it's a great sign that she knows to tell me "I need to go outside!".

After our morning walk, Noelle snuggled back in bed with me for a while.

A little bit ago we went for another walk, a longer one, and Noelle REALLY gets going once she starts walking straight! At first she'll do a few slow circles, then she'll pee. Then some fast circles, then poop. Then time for some serious exercise. Once she manages to get herself on a straight path, there's no stopping her. She falls down occasionally (lucky there's snow to break her fall) but she gets right back up, puts her ears back, and CHARGE!! She could not be happier, this dog LOVES to run. I can't wait til this snow is gone so I can take her to my inlaws and run laps in the back yard with her (ours isn't fully fenced).

My favorite part of today: my dogs caught me sneaking out the back door with Noelle. And Noelle's tail immediately started going. As Noelle isn't vaccinated yet, I can't let them make friends, but all involved parties were wagging and smiling- including my husband and I. When I took Noelle outside, she walked down the steps all by herself!! She's gone up a couple of times already, but this was her first time successfully making it down. SO HAPPY!!!

She managed to stay still for long enough for me to get this:

I love my wonky little foster baby, and I can't even tell you how exciting it is to see her improvement on a day to day basis. 

Noelle still needs help with her veterinary bills and ongoing care. If you are able, please go to her ChipIn page by following this link.

Thank you so much for caring about Noelle and her story!! I have a feeling it's going to have a really happy ending :)

Noelle: Day Five (1-1-2011)

Happy New Year!

As you can see, Noelle's Valium is wearing off!! She is very playful, though very uncoordinated. 

Noelle is eating and drinking by herself, and is very food motivated! Today she walked out of the crate all by herself when she heard the food being poured in her dish!! She can't quite hold herself up while she's eating, she sort of lays down and plops her face in the bowl, but I've been helping her stand and she's learning. 

Today Noelle WAGGED HER TAIL!!! Several times in a row! It was so exciting, I must look like an idiot constantly cheering for the littlest things that she does, but man is it exciting to see her making progress. I wish I had thought of blogging earlier, because it's hard to chronicle the landmarks she's made in the past few days since I haven't noted them as they happen. Now I will, for sure. 

Another first, Noelle used her back foot to scratch her ear! That is EXTRA exciting, because it shows there's communication with those wobbly back legs of hers. I couldn't be happier. 

And the cutest first: Noelle did a 'kill shake' (I hate calling it that, but it seems to be the only term people recognize) with her rope toy! It was SUCH a puppy move, and SO exciting! I'm ecstatic at her improvement!

Now we're caught up and I can begin actively blogging her every day life and the steps she makes towards normalcy.

Thank you for reading and thank you for caring about sweet Noelle!!

Noelle: Day Four (12-31-2010)

Noelle came home today!

This poor baby is exhausted, but so happy to be loved. She still has Valium working through her system, so she's a little groggy and goofy, but as she's waking up she's more and more alert and puppy like!!

Noelle walked on the leash today, and knew to go to the bathroom in the grass and everything!! She is VERY wobbly, and her back legs have no muscle tone what soever. She doesn't seem to understand that her back legs are part of her body, but we are hoping that will improve with time and exercise.

This will be a day of rest for Noelle, she has been through a lot and really deserves it. The above photo was taken at Midnight on New Years, and I am so excited that it's a new chance for Noelle. 

Noelle: Day Two (12-29-2010)

Heidi (Bully Breed Rescue) and I visited Noelle today. 

The seizures seem to be under control. She was on a valium drip until 4:00 today, and then given phenobarbital, and has not had a seizure yet (as of 6:00 tonight), which the Dr. was VERY happy about. Her temperature has also dropped and is now normal! Noelle will be staying at the animal specialty center for a while for further tests, and also to start treating her hydrocephalus, now that it looks like the seizures are under control. 


We will know more tomorrow about her functionality and if there has been any brain damage due to the constant seizures and extremely high fever. Noelle will stay on an IV so she can continue to stay hydrated. Noelle will also be having a spinal tap to check for distemper, and addition blood work to check her liver functions and for any other infections that could have caused such a high temp. 


On a good note, Noelle was alert and responsive today. Though she was on a constant drip of valium, Noelle was very happy to see us and be held. She spent most of her time napping in our arms, but was happy to nibble our fingers when we went to put her back in her crate! 


Though Noelle is not out of the woods yet, we are very hopeful that Noelle will have a relatively normal functionality as she continues on her recovery. Please keep Noelle in your thoughts, and we will keep you updated on her progress! Thank you for caring about this sweet angel!

Noelle: Day One

Noelle is a beautiful 12 week old pit bull puppy in great need of help. 

Noelle was bought off the streets of Bridgeport for $20.00 by a kid who brought her home, and she immediately started having seizures. Instead of surrendering her, or bringing her to a vet, Noelle suffered through seizures for 2 weeks before the owner would surrender her to us. 


This morning, 12-28-2010 at 8:30, Noelle was finally in our custody and brought straight to the vet. She seized the whole way to the vet and continued once she got there. She had a temperature of 106 degrees. She was immediately given valium, put on an IV for dehydration, as well as put on ice to try to break the fever. The veterinarian's initial recommendation was that we euthanize Noelle, but we had to see if she could be saved first. After doing initial blood work, and tests coming back negative, our vet thought she should see a specialist, so we brought her down to the Animal Speciality Center in Yonkers, NY to see a neurologist. They did tests, and found that Noelle has Hydrocephalus. 


Hydrocephalus is a build up of fluid inside the skull, leading to brain swelling, also known as,"water on the brain." Hydrocephalus is not common in bullies, or other large breed dogs, but can occur when there is trauma to the head. 


Though we are not sure if Noelle will make it through this, and as the neurologist stated, "Noelle is trying to climb Mt. Everest," we are going to do anything in our power to help this girl survive, and get the treatment she deserves. We know there are many dogs in need of help and donations, but Noelle is a special little girl, in a dire situation. We will not give up on her.

Noelle is currently staying at Animal Specialty Center to see how she responds to different medication. They are trying to control her seizures, so we can get a better idea of her prognosis. 
Thank you for caring about Noelle, an amazing little angel who needs a chance!! 

Welcome to the Noelle Diaries

This is my first time blogging, so please bear with me. I'm not about the hipster slang or attention grabbing headlines, this blog is all about my foster puppy, Noelle, and her amazing story. I will update as frequently as possible (probably daily) and will overtake your screen with adorable pics. If you like what you're reading, and fall in love with Noelle like the rest of us have, please donate to her vet bill and continued care by following this link.

Thank you for caring about Noelle!